William Blake
The Chimney Sweeper
The Chimney Sweeper is set against the dark background of child labour that was prominent in England in the late 18th and 19th Century. It gives hints into Blake's thoughts, both pessimistic and optimistic, on the world around him and in the last stanza in particular that worlds relationship with God. Curiously, the poem insinuates that through work we may find redemption, which seems to contradict the main thrust of the poem. When Blake himself was young he claimed to have seen visions of God and angels and we can see this very specific imagery in the C…
